1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for delivering molecules into a target cell, and, more particularly, to such methods and apparatus for achieving such delivery through electroporation.
2. Description of Related Art
The effect of electromagnetic fields on cell membranes has been studied since the 1960s. Early research focused on describing observations that an applied electric field can reversibly break down cell membranes in vitro. Throughout the 1970s the topic was more common in the literature and continued to focus on describing the phenomenon that resulted from brief exposure to intense electric fields as well as the entry of exogenous molecules to the cell interior as a result of membrane breakdown. Applications began to emerge along with a better understanding of reversible membrane breakdown in the 1980s.
Prior research led to the current understanding that exposure of cells to intense electric fields for brief periods of time temporarily destabilized membranes. This effect has been described as a dielectric breakdown due to an induced transmembrane potential, and was termed "electroporation," or "electropermeabilization," because it was observed that molecules that do not normally pass through the membrane gain intracellular access after the cells were treated with electric fields. The porated state was noted to be temporary. Typically, cells remain in a destabilized state on the order of minutes after electrical treatment ceases.
The physical nature of electroporation makes it universally applicable. A variety of procedures utilize this type of treatment, which gives temporary access to the cytosol. These include production on monoclonal antibodies, cell-cell fusion, cell-tissue fusion, insertion of membrane proteins, and genetic transformation. In addition, dyes and fluorescent molecules have been used to investigate the phenomenon of electroporation. A notable example of loading molecules into cells in vivo is electrochemotherapy. The procedure utilizes a drug combined with electric pulses as a means for loading tumor cells with an anticancer drug, and has been performed in a number of animal models and in clinical trials by the present inventors. Also, plasmid DNA has been loaded into rat liver cells in vivo (Heller et al., FEBS Lett. 389, 225-28).
Protocols for the use of electroporation to load cells in vitro typically use a suspension of single cells or cells that are attached in a planar manner to a growth surface. In vivo electroporation is more complex because tissues are involved. Tissues are composed of individual cells that collectively make up a three-dimensional structure. In either case, the effects on the cell are the same. FIG. 1 illustrates details of the electroporation procedure. Electrodes and electrode arrays for delivering electrical waveforms for therapeutic benefit, including inducing electroporation, have been described by Bernard (WO 98/47562).
The loading of molecules by electroporation in vitro as well as in vivo is typically carried out by first exposing the cells or tissue of interest to a drug (FIG. 2). The cells or tissue are then exposed to electric fields by administering one or more direct current pulses. Electrical treatment is conducted in a manner that results in a temporary membrane destabilization with minimal cytotoxicity. The intensity of electrical treatment is described by the magnitude of the applied electric field. This field is defined as the voltage applied to the electrodes divided by the distance between the electrodes. Electric field strengths ranging from 1000 to 5000 V/cm have been used and are specific to the cells or tissue under investigation. Pulses are usually rectangular in shape; however, exponentially decaying pulses have also been used. The duration of each pulse is called pulse width. Molecule loading has been performed with pulse widths ranging from microseconds (.mu.s) to milliseconds (ms). The number of pulses delivered has ranged from one to eight. Typically, multiple pulses are utilized during electrical treatment.
For molecules to be delivered to the cell interior by electroporation, it is important that the molecule of interest be near the exterior of the cell membrane at the time of electroporation. It is also important to have molecules near substantially all cells within a treated tissue volume in order to provide efficient delivery to substantially all cells within the treatment volume.
Currently, molecules are injected systemically or directly into the treatment site. No attempt is made to produce a specific distribution. These methods do not ensure that the distribution of molecules is sufficient to provide effective delivery to substantially all the cells.
Electropermeabilization of tumor cell membranes has been reported (Rols et al., Nature Biotechnology 16, 173, 1998) using applied electric pulses from surface electrodes in contact with the skin. Proteins and genes can be transferred into the cells by incorporating either the protein or a plasmid carrying a reporter gene. The efficiencies of transfer for the protein and plasmid were, respectively, 20 and 4%.
A first type of electrode known in the art comprises parallel-plate electrodes placed on opposite sides of the tumor. Other electrodes known in the art at the present time comprise needles that are inserted into or around the tissue of interest. A third type comprises a planar arrangement of parallel wires that can be placed on the surface of the tissue.
Electrodes and methods known in the art do not provide molecule movement during the preelectroporation time for electromigration, distribution, and postelectroporation time period when the cells are in a state of increased membrane permeability. The movement of molecules within the tissue is believed to effect an increase in the delivered quantity of molecules by enhancing movement into the cells.